June 25, 1806

Hadley, Mass., June 3

On Sunday, the 1st inst., the town was visited with the most distressing storm of rain, hail, thunder and lightening, ever known in this vicinity. Soon after the inhabitants had returned from public worship in the afternoon, a cloud arose in the west and north west with uncommon rapidity, which (though of a peculiar menacing aspect) portended to the people of Hadley (who have heretofore been providentially exempted from similar judgments) no more, as they supposed, than an ordinary plentiful thunder shower. The rain soon began with unusual violence, and in a few moments was succeeded by a frightful deluge of hail; which, driven by an high wind, marked its progress with singular desolation. The crops (which re animated from the late drought by the mild rain of Saturday, promised an abundant harvest) were mostly cut up, beat down and destroyed, and present at this time, a melancholy contrast to the cheering prospect of the Sabbath day morning. The hail stones were mostly larger than musket balls; many were of the magnitude of a hen’s egg.

These, impelled by the wind, in nearly an horizontal direction, drove and beat in almost every window within the limits of the storm facing the W. and N. Upwards of 7,500 panes of glass were broken, and driven in many instances to the further sides of the houses, and in some cases, with such incredible velocity, as to produce indentations upon the opposite walls. In one house alone, 288 panes were beaten in, and others fractured.

Some conception may be formed of the astonishing velocity of the hail, by this fact. In one instance a large stones passed through the same pane of glass, in different places, leaving perforations of diameters just equal to those of the respective stones, without injuring the intervening parts of the pane.

Fortunately though the wind was very high and tempestuous, only one building, a barn belonging to Capt. Moses Kellogg, was blown down. We are happy to learn that the neighboring towns escaped the desolating effects of the storm. As far as we have been able to learn, the hail began east of Williamsburgh, passed over the centre of Hadley, in a south eastern direction, being in width from north to south a little more than a mile. Terminated principally before it reached the south end of Amherst. The rain was probably much more extensive. The Centinel (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) Submitted by Nancy Piper

Hampshire County